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Monthly Archives: September 2011

Right now, our society seems to be in a transitory state with electronic gadgets and how consumers use them. The main issue that people and markets seem to be back-and-forth on is the argument between form and function.

In the beginning, there were desktops. They were big and their monitors were also big and even more ugly. They sat on desks where people would work on them and get stuff done.

Many, many years later came laptops which were a lot smaller. They varied in size but could typically be compared to a long and wide textbook (though not a particularly thick textbook). At first people scoffed at the lack of power of laptops compared to desktops, but over time, performance grew to such an extent that many laptops could outperform desktops.

More importantly, people marveled over the portability of laptops. You could carry them in a bag to school or to your office at work or even on airplanes to different cities. While they could sometimes feel heavy (especially with a power cord and maybe a mouse included), they were the perfect solution for a portable office.

However, you couldn’t practically carry them everywhere without at least some pain and annoyance, so people began using handheld portable devices called PDAs. After a while, people got tired of carrying a phone and a PDA everywhere, so they combined the two. While they were at it, people also decided it would be nifty to add a camera and camcorder in and allow internet access so people could virtually do everything on one device that fits in their pocket. They eventually called this the smartphone.

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Let’s take a minute to look at the convenience, function, and flow of technological gadgets at this point in technology history (before the tablet and netbook). For your performance-intensive computing needs (video editing, music recording, image editing, and gaming), the most ideal choice is a desktop. It’s easy to maintain and has incredible performance potential.

If you need something portable and travel-friendly with these performance-intensive computing needs, you will have to invest in a high-end laptop. This is considerably more expensive, but it serves its niche. And of course the level of performance (and concurrently price) is based on your needs. Some people only need midrange laptops to optimally do their jobs.

For just a general calendar, planner, music player, GPS system, and off-hand internet researching device, people had smartphones. It wasn’t ideal at all for content creation (even with a slide-out keyboard) although it could get the job done in a crunch situation, and it also wasn’t the ideal screen size for a reader although it still served this purpose decently in a pinch.

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Then the computing market started to realize that many people did not need computers nearly as high-end as what was on the market. Additionally, these more basic, low-spec machines could be crafted in a much more portable size (compared to all other laptops) and sell for a cheaper price. These devices, known as netbooks, came into the market right in the midst of a recession so the timing was perfect.

Only a couple years after netbooks were introduced, Apple released its iPad and thus the tablet market was born. Several comparisons have been made between tablets and netbooks. They are similar in size although tablets are typically smaller and lighter. That being said, netbooks have more function than tablets due to operating systems. Tablets operate more like oversized phones (running apps rather than major software or programs) while netbooks behave more like laptops. Yet they both overlap in pricing and size.

So here we are at this awkward transitioning point between form and function. Tablets win in areas of form: They are lighter and have more screen space than most netbooks but their function is restricted almost exclusively to media consumption. Netbooks and laptops obviously win in function: content creation is much more of a reality (you have a physical keyboard) but their form leaves a lot to be desired.

Many experts and insiders say that one must give way to the other although the market is starting to see hybrids (tablets with keyboard attachments or slide-out keyboards). In terms of determining where you fit into the market, just try not to waste too much time reading the fanboy wars between different types of technology and brands.

About Author: This guest post is contributed by Lauren Bailey, who regularly writes for best online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: blauren99 @gmail.com.

Sony Ericsson has had an interesting string of handsets lately. From the super slim Arc, to the slide away gaming Play, Sony seems to be one of the few manufacturer doing a good job standing out from the Android pack. The latest phone from the Sony camp is aimed at music lovers and is called the “Live.” The handset ships with native applications for Sony’s Quriosity music program and a powerful equalizer.

SpecsThe Sony Ericsson Xperia Live is a slimmed down handset running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. It features a 3.2-inch WVGA capacitive touch screen that’s bright and vivid, while still small enough to allow a good form factor. Under the hood is a 1GHz processor, (likely a Snapdragon) and 312MBs of RAM. It’s not exactly on super phone levels, but that is more than enough power to ensure a snappy Android experience and run any app currently available. The phone features tri-band 3G supports and will be able to roam on more or less any GSM network. In addition, the phone also ships with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a dedicated GPS for navigation. AvailabilityThe Live is slated for a Q4 release and while there is no official word on price just yet, it’s clearly being marketed as a mid-ranged device. Even at the standard price of $450 with a 32GB microSD card included in the price, it may prove to be a compelling option for music lovers who want a decent smartphone. Press release provided below:

Bio(About the Author): Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and recent graduate of Elon University. She is currently a resident blogger at online degrees, where recently she’s been interested in advanced start nutrition programs and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.